The Effect of Technology on Teenagers

Have you ever thought about how technology ruins people? How it gets in the way? What it does to people? Texting while driving, people getting caught up in violent situations, teens not getting enough sleep—these are just a few examples.

First, texting while driving. You’ve probably heard about, or possibly even witnessed, how this can result in people dying. According to the Department of Transportation, 3,477 people have and 391,000 have been injured since 2015 as a result of texting while driving. That’s serious.

People getting caught up in violent situations as a result of technology is another problem altogether. Social media is one of the leading contributors to drama in today’s world. Someone causes conflict with another person, and before too long that person’s friend gets dragged into it—it’s like a chain reaction. My advice to you? Try to stay away from these issues. Don’t be the person that starts the problem.

Then there’s the issue of teens not getting enough sleep. Adolescents need 9.25 hours of sleep per night, and the average teen falls short of that by a full two hours. According to a National Sleep Foundation survey, 95% of people use electronic devices prior to sleeping. This starts to affect school because then teens are liable to fall asleep in class. That means missing tons of information, and eventually failing quizzes, tests, maybe even finals.

To me, society’s reliance on phones is the key here. According to NBC News, 8 out of every 10 Americans depends on technology. 51% of the population uses a phone to get information. This is dangerous; we’re depending on them too much. We need to learn for ourselves instead of immediately looking up the answer. What if technology malfunctions? What would we do then?

The main takeaway is that people spend far too much time on their electronic devices. One thing people could try is tracking the amount of time they spend using their phones or computers each day and place a limit on it accordingly.